Holding the line on school spending? The job's not over

Thursday

OUR VIEW New economic challenges make it incumbent on budget writers to continue on this path.

Here’s some good news: Across New York state, 97 percent of the school budgets were approved by the voters this year.

Actually, 97.3 percent, or 653 or those 671 spending proposals, according to the New York State School Boards Association. Locally, school budgets passed in a clean sweep — no vote was even close.

Here’s some better news: On average, spending was up in those budgets less than 2 percent (actually, 1.89 percent, again according to the association).

In many cases, this reflects a realization by district budget writers that these are lousy economic times. Many local districts pared back their work force and found other ways to hold the line on spending. In some cases, unfortunately, federal stimulus funds were used to hold down spending increases; those districts — and they were few locally — are simply putting off painful cuts for another year or two.

We hope this new economic reality is likewise recognized by unionized teachers, administrators and other school workers who bargain collectively. Teachers and administrators will get an average raise of 5.6 percent this year, based on labor contracts signed before the recession hit, according to the Associated Press. Labor costs are about 70 percent of a school district’s spending.

Even those districts that did a good job of holding down spending this go-round have yet another hurdle just around the corner: Pension-fund payments by schools are expected to spike in about two years to absorb losses of 10 percent or more on Wall Street investments.

Clearly, cost-cutting needs to be pursued not only during budget preparations but during contract negotiations. And school workers need to realize that no matter what the contract says, a job with reduced benefits and a flat salary is better than no job at all. There are plenty of voters in every district who have learned that lesson the hard way.

Gov. David Paterson has made noise about reducing state aid to school districts — a major funding component both locally and across the state. The Legislature nevertheless adopted a state budget this year that raises spending to school districts; it may not have that luxury in 2010.

Finally, that federal stimulus funding was something of a wild card: Included in some districts’ budgets for certain items, not included in others, and not even mentioned in others. There remains some questions as to what types of uses these funds can be put to. Which is another reason those districts that didn’t lean too heavily on this money were particularly prudent.

In any case, the stimulus money will run out in two years.

At least that was the plan this morning.

Then the planning, scraping, trimming and laying off will start all over again. Because the other main revenue stream for public schools — district residents who pay property taxes — is pretty much tapped out as well.

So while this year’s lower-than-usual increases in school budgets were welcome — and, indeed, necessary — it is incumbent on district financial officers to ensure they become the rule, rather than the exception.

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